Torrent description

Russia's War: Blood Upon the Snow brings to life the story of the people of the Soviet Union during World War II who struggle to survive the tyrannical reign of Joseph Stalin. A compelling story of dictatorship, bloody battles, and endless courage as the Soviet people combat not only Hitler and the Germany Army, but their own leader as well. Hosted by former US Secretary of State, Henry Kissinger, this 10-hour program features never-before-seen Russian images, once-secret documents, and leading Russian historians to explore Russia from 1924 through 1953.

Vol. 9: The Fall of the Swastika

Germany is now on the brink of defeat. As the Red Army approaches Berlin, Hitler mobilizes both young and old to defend the doomed city. With the fall of Berlin and the death of his old enemy. Stalin turns once again tot he control of his own people.

- Amazon.com lists a VHS tape set for this series, also has some good user reviews.

- A review of the same documentary by Dr. Evan Mawdsley,University of Glasgow. Partial quote :

[quote]The war between Nazi Germany and Soviet Russia remains a subject of great fascination. The campaign clearly had a vital effect on the outcome of the Second World War as a whole. It was an historical drama with unpredictable turning points. And it was fought on an vast scale and with a correspondingly vast scale of casualties. There are different ways of trying to comprehend the enormity of what the Russians still call 'The Great Patriotic War'. The book under review is a companion to an ambitious television documentary made in the mid-1990s. They share the same title (although the documentary had the subtitle 'Blood upon the Snow'). The documentary was an Anglo-Russian co-production and credited in Britain to Video Collection International. As far as this reviewer knows the series has not yet been transmitted on terrestrial television in the U.K. and is available only on video. There is no mention of the television series on the book's jacket.

The 'Russia's War' television documentary was a prestige production, with ten 52 minute episodes. Some of the episodes were introduced by Henry Kissinger. Nigel Hawthorne served as the narrator. The important Russian historians Dmitrii Volkogonov (Stalin's biographer) and Mikhail Semiriaga were credited as consultants, alongside Richard Overy; both Volkogonov and Semiriaga appeared on screen in various episodes.[/quote]